Lost in Alaska (1952)

At first glance, Lost in Alaska wouldn't appear to be all that promising of a film given that the whole snowy theme was already done in Hit the Ice. But while Lost in Alaska does have a few problems (very few Abbott and Costello films don't), overall it actually does manage to be a pretty solid comedy film.

Lost in Alaska finds Abbott and Costello playing Tom Watson and George Bell, two volunteer firemen who save the life of "Nugget" Joe McDermott (Tom Ewell) after he attempts to kill himself. McDermott had struck rich in the Yukon, but decided to end his life when his girlfriend, Rosette (Mitzi Green) stopped loving him. He later receives a telegram from Rosette claiming she still loves him and decides to return to the Yukon with Tom and George in tow, since the newspapers mistakenly reported that Joe had been murdered by the two of them. In Alaska, Tom and George must protect Joe from "old-timers" who want to kill Joe for his gold.

The story is decent, although it does get a bit confusing as time goes along. For example, it's revealed that Rosette didn't actually send the letter to Joe and that it was a trick by someone else to get him to come back. Then later, Rosette suddenly loves him again for no real reason. OK, so, really, the romance isn't that bad; it is hinted throughout the film that she still cares for him deep down, but there really isn't much development to that; they're actually missing for a good portion of the movie. While I'm usually fine with reducing the romantic leads' roles, this was one where I felt they may have benefited from a little more screen time, especially as both of them are good actors. The two songs are also pretty boring.

There really aren't any classic Abbott and Costello routines (well, maybe the "hunting bear" scene), but all of the gags are done with a lot of energy and are pretty consistent. There's a good scene at the beginning where Abbott and Costello take turns sleeping, but Abbott cheats the system by moving the clock's hands forward. Other good scenes rely more on physical humor. For example, there's a scene where Abbott and Costello catch each other's fishing lines and Costello accidentally pulls Abbott through the water. Another quick scene involves Costello trying to use an ax, but having difficulties keeping it from getting stuck. There also are a couple Three Stooges-like gags involving crabs and whale meat (the story of this film was written by long-time Stooges writer, Elwood Ullman). Unlike some previous attempts, Costello doesn't actually feel like he's trying to replicate Curly Howard with these gags; he actually feels natural in his part. To me, the best scene involves a roulette table. Costello is trying to talk to a lawyer during this scene with a numbered list of questions, but the person running the table keeps mistaking his numbers for the numbers he's deciding to gamble on...and they all keep winning until the last one. Having not paid attention to what was going on, Costello asks how he did and discovered he lost. His response? "The only dollar I had. I lost the dollar."

Lost in Alaska is a fun movie overall. It's not a great movie, but it does manage to be a good reminder of what made Abbott and Costello so great in the first place.

8 out of 10